This large-scale project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences, is a joint endeavor among the PENNlincs Lab, Philip Kellman's Human Perception Lab at UCLA, and a research team at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, led by Andrew Porter and Laura Desimone. The objective of this project is to conduct a randomized controlled trial of a suite of interactive, adaptive, computer-based math learning modules that incorporate principles of perceptual learning. The perceptual learning modules (PLMs), which were developed under a prior IES Development grant, target conceptually difficult areas of the middle school mathematics curriculum related to fractions and measurement. They have shown robust, durable learning gains for students in smaller-scale classroom-based efficacy studies.

Adaptive Sequencing and Perceptual Learning Technologies in Mathematics and Science.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, this research project is a collaborative effort with Philip Kellman's Human Perception Laboratory at UCLA. Our studies utilize innovative learning technology that integrates principles of perceptual learning--which accelerate learners' abilities to recognize and discrminate key structures and relations--along with new adaptive learning algorithms that customize the learning process for each individual learner. These algorithms use a constant stream of performance data, combined with principles of learning and memory, to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of learning in math and science. We conduct both lab and school-based experiments to investigate the role of response time data as a novel input into both spacing and the setting of learning criteria in adaptive and perceptual learning systems. The project is designed to yield research findings as well as model systems that have the potential to increase the success, efficiency, and long-term durability of learning in key curricular areas by elementary math students and community college chemistry students.

21st Century Research and Development Center for Cognition and Science Instruction.

This Center, which was created with funding from theU.S. Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences, is applying principles of cognitive science to modify two widely-used middle school science curricula to improve students' learning. The Center is comprised of a team of cognitive scientists from the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh, along with a research team from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, who will evaluate the effectiveness of the modified curricula in large-scale randomized controlled studies.

The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education and by the National Science Foundation. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the US Department of Education or of the National Science Foundation.